My Italian Heart
by Rukia Blood-Moon
Summary: "There can't be two Italy's, silly! There should only be one!" Those words from that girl I met so long ago echoed in my ears ever since I realized how little I meant to everyone. Maybe I'm just an unneeded extra... OC's, Spamano, and cursing.
1. Prologue

**FORGIVE ME MY COMRADES! I ENJOY MULTITASKING WITH MY STORIES TOO MUCH!** **Anyway, this is the prologue of my new story, 'My Italian Heart.' OC's of the ancients will be mentioned throughout the story along with my OC that never existed. **

**So let us begin!**

* * *

><p><em>Two children played merrily in a garden, running around and throwing a ball, their laughter echoing around the courtyard. The lush bushes of foliage were brightly accented by vibrant flowers of pink and yellow. The younger child, a boy precisely, giggled and picked a clump of the pink flowers and proceeded to make a crown. Maybe this would bring a smile to his mothers ill face!<em>

_The older child with chocolate brown hair and amber eyes abruptly stopped running and dropped the ball he was holding, staring at something off in the distance. The younger twin blinked and craned his neck to see what his brother was staring at. _

_In the distance, the twins could see someone running towards him. At first, they couldn't tell who it was, but as the person got closer they could see it was a little girl. They both watched as the girl skidded to a halt in front of them and panted slightly. The younger child nervously left the side of the flower bush and walked over to stand by his brother, twirling the flowers in his hands nervously._

_When the girl regained her breath, she smiled toothily and stuck out her hand. "Ciao! I'm Abri! Who are you guys?" She asked, literally jumping up and down in excitement of finding someone to play with. Last time she tried to play with some boys, they sneered at her and chased her off. At least these two hadn't been mean to her yet!_

_The older child blinked and hesitated before he pointed to himself and said, "I'm Italy Romano."_

_The younger brother repeated his older brothers actions and said, "I'm Italy Venenziano."_

_Abri blinked and grinned, stepping away from the twins with a giggle. "Eh? There can't be two Italy's, silly! There should only be one!" Romano and Venenziano blinked in surprise, startled by Abri's words and exchanged glances with each other. _

_From behind her, they heard a woman call out, "Abri! Where are you? Dinner is ready!" Abri blinked and pouted. She turned to look at the Italy twins and smiled sadly. "Aw, man. We didn't get to play with each other today. Maybe next time." She turned around and began to run away. "See you guys later!"_

_As Abri ran away, Romano and Venenziano were speechless, absorbed in their own thoughts. _

_She was right. How can their be two Italy's?_

Time Era- World War II

_A woman paced back and forth uneasily, her hand was clasped over her wrist which was behind her back. The woman had long dark brown hair that swayed to her waist, brushing against her white chiton* that reached to her ankles. Amongst her dark hair, there were two odd hair curls. One of the hair curls protruded from the right side of her head and the other one came from the center of her forehead pointing out to the left. This looked fairly odd, but you wouldn't want to say that to the woman unless you wanted your spine carved out of your body. _

_The woman gave up on pacing, deciding that it wouldn't help her troubles at all and plopped down on a stone bench in defeat. Anxiety was getting the better of her. Perhaps she should follow Aztec's (forceful) advice and take it easy for a while and be her usual oblivious self. The woman shook her head roughly and sighed again. How could she be relaxed. All of her babies were in a giant war right now that could be fatal enough to where they had to join her in the land of dead nations. _

_The woman gloomily skimmed the scenery in front of her. Lavish hills of dark green grass covered the ground in front of her and the sky above her was clear of any clouds with the suns glorious waves beating down on the surface. The perfect weather. _

'_No, not perfect weather' The woman thought. 'The weather is practically always the same here. It's boring not to see the clouds and their interesting shapes anymore.' _

_A hand was placed on the woman's shoulder, making her jump. She turned her startled green eyes towards the offender and found herself staring into the amber eyes of another woman. She had deeply tanned skin and locks of red hair coming down in waves to just a little bit below her shoulders. She was wearing a golden huipil** along with a beige skirt. On her feet, she was bearing sandals similar to her very own that was basically wooden on the bottom with twine crisscrossing on the tops of their feet and halfway up their shins._

_The red-headed woman frowned at the brunette. "Byzantine, you know its not healthy to sit and mope around like a lost chick." She scolded the brown-haired girl. The Byzantine Empire scooted to make room for the woman and tried for a smile, lifting up her shoulders. "Hey Aztec, I didn't see you there!" Byzantine said, trying to sound like her usual cheerful self, but failing miserably._

_The Aztec Empire raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. "Still upset about your kids?" She asked and Byzantine continued smiling that fake smile. "No, no! What would make you think that?" She asked with a nervous laugh._

_Aztec stared at Byzantine and the brunettes shoulders slumped. "Okay, maybe a little…" Aztec continued to stare, raising an eyebrow in a quizzical way. Byzantine sighed exasperatedly and threw her hands up in the air. "Okay, okay! I'm really upset." She said and Aztec looked at her with a sigh. _

"_Look, you shouldn't keep this to yourself, Byzantine. Why don't you try talking to Arcadia? You guy's are best friends." Byzantine sighed again and shook her head._

"_She has more problems to deal with at the moment. She's extremely pissed and upset that Poland got invaded by Germany and Russia. She's already disliked Prussia's family greatly and German's move only fueled her hatred more, but now she's torn because Belarus's brother Russia assisted him." Byzantine told Aztec and then fretted, "What if someone invades Romano and my Vene***? What if they die?" Aztec threw her a sympathetic look._

"_I know your worried Byzantine, but sitting around and moping all the time won't help you at all. Do you see me sitting around moping for Mexico and the rest of my children? No! Because I know he'll be fine." Aztec said with a wolfish grin, and stood up. She walked in front of Byzantine and put a hand on her shoulder. _

"_You should really have more faith in your kids. They'll be fine." Aztec reassured her and Byzantine smiled softly, this time genuinely. _

"_Yeah… I guess your right."_

-August 6th, 1945-

_The crumbled remains of buildings of all different sizes and varieties dotted the entire city. The dead bodies of the unfortunate citizens were splayed out on the roads or under large chunks or debris. Radiation burned her skin as Byzantine ran down the broken city known as Hiroshima. _

_Byzantine's heart pounded in her chest as she silently thought. 'Oh god, please let me make it in time. Please, please, please…" Byzantine tripped over something and crashed to the ground, shattered glass cutting her skin. She gritted her teeth and threw a glance behind her to see what she had tripped over and her heart leapt to her throat. Byzantine's body went rigid as she stared at the broken body of her son…_

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's a prologue cliffhanger that won't be answered until upcoming chapters!<strong>

**Thanks for reading the prologue!**

***= Clothing the Greeks wore**

****= Blouse that the Aztec women used to wear**

*****= Byzantine's nickname for Venenziano; pronounced (Ven-eh)**


	2. The Grains of Sand are Falling

**Yayz! First (actual) chapter up! Thanks for the alerts you guys already gave me! X3**

**Romano's POV**

* * *

><p>Endless rows of tomatoes stretched across the field. The blistering sun sent down sharp, hot rays of sunlight as Romano worked effortlessly in the field, carrying a heavy wicker basket as he transitioned between tomato plants. Some people may think that Romano and his brother couldn't do anything effortlessly because they think they were so useless, but they just didn't know them too well. Hell, Venenziano, his little brother and the Northern part of Italy even knocked Turkey out once with one hit when he tried to pollute their seas. That sure taught the bastard to mess with them.<p>

Romano straightened his back up from the tomato vines and wiped sweat off his brow and he looked at the bursting tomato basket next to him feeling a twinge of satisfaction. Romano stood up and crossed his arms and looked out at the field in front of him. A slight breeze ruffled his dark brown hair as well was his slightly dirty gray t-shirt. Everything was so peaceful, even though everything looked the same. There was of course, the tomato field, a quaint pond in the distance, a suspicious looking woman staring at him, a-

Romano froze and whirled around, his amber eyes wide as he stared at the woman that was some distance away from him. Well, at least he thought it was a she. The person was totally decked out in black with a hood covering 'her' face and she was holding a peculiar object in her hands. Was there sand in that thing…?

After he got over his initial shock, anger coursed through him and Romano began to march over to her, fuming with his usual acquired Italian rage. "What the fuck are you doing here?" Romano demanded as he got closer to the figure. "Don't you know you're on private prop-" Romano's rant was abruptly cut off when his cell phone suddenly rang, scaring the shit out of him. He glanced down at the phone and then flicked his eyes up to meet the woman's…

But she was gone.

Romano looked around in confusion. She was nowhere to be seen in the field. There was no way that she could of ran away that fast (unless she was his brother) or have ducked down, since the tomato plants were to short.

The cell phone's ringing eventually became noticeable to his ears and he dug through his pants pockets and flipped the phone open, without bothering to check the caller I.D. The only people that called him was either the mafia or Spain. "Hello?"

Sure enough, a cheerful voice sounded from the device, nearly blasting Romano's ear drums. "Roma! _Mi amour! _How are you?" Romano blushed hard at the comment Spain made and his heart began to beat rapidly without his permission.

"A-asshole! I'm not you're love!" He spat into the phone. Romano could almost see Spain pout when he stated, "That's not very cute Lovi~" He scowled fiercely and tried hard to keep himself from spluttering a string of insults at Spain. Wait a minute. Why was he trying to restrain himself for this bastard?

"Moron! Don't even put my name and cute in the same sentence, tomato bastard!" Romano spat into the phone and to his annoyance, Spain only laughed, however.

"You are absolutely adorable, my Lovi! Say, can I come over later? France and Prussia are busy today so I thought that we could spend time with each other, just you and I." Romano blushed heavily at the last part. Just him and Spain… That didn't sound to bad… N-not that he was saying this because he was in love with the bastard, damn it!

…

Okay, so maybe that was a lie.

Let's back up a bit, shall we? Romano's been in love with Spain for some time, you see. It all started a long time ago when Romano was conquered by Austria. Romano was diagnosed with chorea as a child, so he constantly broke things in Austria's house. Not that Romano really minded, he hated the uptight nation, he reminded him of the mean nations that used to beat him when he was younger. Anyways, Austria eventually became sick of Romano's 'carelessness' and eventually sent him to Spain so he didn't have to deal with him. Romano didn't really care that he was being sent away from Austria. Good riddance to the bastard! However, he was nervous about meeting Spain at the time. After all, he was probably another one of those bastards that only wanted him for his land.

When Romano first saw Spain's chipper smiling face, he felt his heart skip a beat and his face warm up. Romano had never experienced these feeling before and they confused him at the time. He had no idea what he felt for the bastard, but he decided to make Spain's life a living hell. Romano lazed around and didn't do anything to try and get Spain to show his true colors but the bastard didn't seem to even be affected. As time went on, Romano began to develop feelings for Spain. Spain was nice to him when everyone else thought he was useless, he called him cute (even though he throws a fit every time Spain does), and he protected him from bastard's like Turkey. Whenever Romano was having a bad day, Spain would pop up and chant that ridiculous 'fusososososo' chant. The tanned man's gentle and warm smile helped him more than the incantation though…

C-Chigi! He's starting to think like a fucking high school girl! Romano tried to ignore his beating heart and he grumbled into the phone, "Fine… Asshole." He could almost picture him grinning from ear to ear when he said this.

"Alright! I'll see you later, _mi tomato. _I love you!" With that, the bastard hung up on him. Romano rolled his amber eyes and sniffed in an embarrassed indignant way. "Damn bastard." Suddenly, he remembered the women in black and looked around the tomato field to make sure no one was really there.

Nothing but the tomatoes.

Shifting uncomfortably, he leaned down uneasily and picked up his basket of tomatoes and started towards his house. When Romano was halfway there, he got the lingering suspicion that someone was watching him. His eyes flitted around him but he couldn't see anyone. He was alone. Regardless, Romano ran the rest of the way towards his house and tried to push away the thoughts of the woman.

**?'s POV**

The woman watched the country jog back towards his house, occasionally throwing glances over his shoulder. Trying to see if anyone was watching him. Which she was doing.

Her hands absent-mindedly played with a hourglass. She turned her head to look down at it. The bottom half of the object was almost completely full with sand while the top part had barely a teaspoon of sand left. The sand trickled through the narrow opening and to the bottom to join its brethren.

The woman glanced up and saw the personification of South Italy retreat into his house. She smiled and brought the hourglass up to her cheek and nuzzled the object, feeling her eyes glazing over with pleasure.

"Soon…" The woman murmured. "Soon…"

**Byzantine's POV**

_It's so dark… _Byzantine mused for the millionth time from her mostly vacant mind. Quite an obvious fact, but it was true. Darkness ruled the tiny cell room that kept the Byzantine Empire captive. Slight moisture leaked from the dark gray stone walls and dripped onto the bare floor. Byzantine was curled into fetal position against the wall, trying to ignore the fear gnawing in her stomach. She hated confined spaces almost as much as she hated _him…_

Byzantine moaned softly under her breath and dug her face deeper into the refuge between her knees and her chest. How long had she been locked in this room? She didn't know… it seemed like eternity. Actually, for all she knew, it could have been for eternity.

A creaking noise sounded from the front of the room and Byzantine lifted her dull, green eyes and stared at the heavy metal door. The door creaked open slightly, light cutting through the darkness like a hot knife through butter. The door swung open completely, slightly dazing Byzantine from the new source of light, and a man stepped into the room. His head was held high, though Byzantine could see that his silhouette was shifting uncomfortably in the light. The man hesitated and walked over to Byzantine and knelt down in front of the woman. Byzantine's eyes grew adjusted to the new light and almost instantly wished that she couldn't see anything again. _He _was here. Why did her least favorite person in the world have to come and visit her?

Byzantine could see the man's face was struggling to keep a neutral face, but his nervousness was bursting at the seams. He coughed into his fist uneasily at being in the presence of Byzantine and pulled a tanned hand through his messy brown hair, tousling it further. She couldn't really blame him for his uneasiness, as much as she hated him. Like, who couldn't be completely calm in the presence of a woman who had a giant freak out not too long ago?

The man and Byzantine stared at each other in silence, lifeless green eyes gazing into amber, until the man finally spoke, "That was some scene…" Tension filled the air and Byzantine clenched her hands into fists. Couldn't he quit with the small talk, state his business, and go?

The man ruffled his hair again, glancing away from Byzantine and said, "Look, Gena-"

"Byzantine." Byzantine interrupted him instantly when he used her human name. The man sighed and corrected himself. "Byzantine. You've been in here for quite some time, so I talked it over with the other countries and they all agreed that you've served your sentence. You can come out now."

The man waited for a response from the seemingly lifeless woman, but Byzantine remained silent. The man sighed and stood up, straightening his red tunic and battle armor. When he was about to turn and leave Byzantine, a person called out, "Leave her alone, Rome. She's still upset and won't answer to you." A woman with long brown hair entered Byzantine's line of vision. The woman was wearing a white toga similar to Byzantine's own, except that the woman's didn't have a medallion on her shoulder like she did.

Rome turned towards the newcomer and nodded reluctantly. "I suppose your right, Graecia. Though I wish she would speak to her own father…" He murmured that last part. The Great Roman Empire shuffled out of the room, leaving behind Graecia, also known as Ancient Greece, and the Byzantine Empire alone in the cell.

Graecia smiled at Byzantine and held out a smooth dainty hand out to her. "Come on now. Byzantium. World War II is over and all of your children, and my grandchildren, are safe." Byzantine's ears perked up at the news and felt relief wash over her. They were safe. Francis, Venenziano, Romano-

Byzantine felt her heart freeze at the thought of her son. _Oh my god… How long have I been in here? What if his time has already ran out?_

Graecia noticed Byzantine's anxiety and she frowned, tipping her head to the side in curiosity. "Byzantium? What's wrong-" Graecia's voice was cut off when Byzantine jumped to her feet and began to rush towards the open door. Byzantine quickly called back, "Sorry Mother. I have to go see someone right now. It's urgent."

Graecia blinked in confusion and stood up and began to follow her daughter. "Byzantium-"

Byzantine turned around and looked her mother in the eyes. "My name is Byzantine."

**Romano's POV**

Romano tapped his index finger on the table top feeling annoyed. It has been half an hour since Spain called and asked to come over. Romano cast a glance over his shoulder at the virtual clock that rested on his kitchen counter. _What the hell is taking him so long? I ran out of tomatoes twenty minutes ago._

Just then, a rapping noise came from Romano's front door making Romano jump. Spain finally arrived. Romano grumbled under his breath and got up from his chair and stalked to the door, miffed.

"What the hell took you so long, assho-" Romano's voice was cut off when he was abruptly tackled to the ground by an over-exuberant Spaniard.

"Rooooomaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Spain cried as he embraced the hot-headed Italian affectionately. "It's been so long since I've last seen you~!" Spain said, rubbing his cheek against the Italian's soft brown hair Romano blushed and he punched Spain in the stomach, making the Spaniard grunt. "Don't touch me, you bastard!"

Romano disentangled himself from Spain and the other country frowned at him. "That's not very cute, Roma!" Romano scowled and glared at the nation. "Don't call me Roma."

Spain blinked and grinned like a goof. "Alright Lovi~!" Romano's cheeks turned red when he used his human name and punched Spain in the arm, which only seemed to enlighten the Spaniard.

"You're so cute, _mi tomato._" Spain cooed and hugged Romano, despite the younger's protests. Spain laughed and stood up, straightening his now wrinkled brown t-shirt. "Do you want me to make paella? It's around lunchtime and I think I heard your tummy growl~." As if on cue, Romano's stomach growled as if it were a lion reflecting Romano's annoyance. Romano's cheeks turned red again and he glanced away from the tanned nation. "Fine, but don't make a mess. I'm not cleaning up after you."

Spain grinned at Romano. "Alright my little Lovi!" Spain said as he turned around and went to Romano's kitchen. Romano scowled at where the Spaniard had left and he yelled after him, "Don't call me Lovi, you ass!" Romano could swear that he heard Spain laugh at that.

Romano grumbled something angrily under his breath and got to his feet swaying slightly and feeling a little light-headed. Romano frowned and put a hand to his forehead. The room still seemed to be spinning and when Romano took a step forward, he stumbled.

"What the-" Suddenly Romano felt a knife of nausea stab at his stomach and he winced and put one hand to his mouth and the other to his stomach. Everything was beginning to feel so hot…

Gagging, Romano spun around and fled down his hall and into his bathroom. He slammed the door behind him and locked it before kneeling down in front of the toilet. Romano's fingers arched as he clutched the toilet seat and his eyes began to water as he threw up what little food his stomach had held.

When Romano was finished, he sat back and gasped for air, panting. Shaky-legged, Romano stood up and walked over to his sink and washed out the remainder of the vile taste. Then, he turned around and stepped towards the toilet to flush down his throw up. Romano didn't mean to, but he glanced into the toilet and saw a dark red liquid spreading in the toilet water.

Romano stiffened and his eyes widened. He slowly walked over to the toilet and the irony smell of blood snuck its way into Romano's nose, making him gag again. Clasping a hand to his mouth his mind began to scream, _WHAT THE HELL? WHY DID I JUST THROW UP BLOOD? AM I DYING?_

The very thought made Romano cringe and shake his head wildly. He couldn't die this way right? He was a country for god's sake! Regardless, Romano was still freaking out over the face he threw up _fucking blood _and decided to console with Spain.

Romano flushed the blood down the toilet and unlocked the door, stumbling out into the hallway. Dizziness returned to Romano's head and began to pound his brain. Romano moaned and gritted his teeth at the dull pain in his head as he hobbled down the hallway.

The room swayed in front of Romano until he couldn't take it anymore and he braced himself against the wall and panted. Everything was beginning to feel warm again.

Romano felt his arm lose all of its strength and he crashed to the floor, barely feeling the impact. He scarcely heard Spain walk out into the hallway in confusion at the dull sound of something hitting the ground and call out, "Romano? What's wrong-"

Through his blurry vision, he saw Spain's eyes widen as he raced to the fallen nations side and began to ask him if he was okay, panic laced in with his words. A black wave swept through Romano's line of vision and before he blacked out, he heard Spain begging him to wake up.

… _What's happening to me?_

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry 'bout the delay in the chapter. I kind of lost the inspiration to write in a while, but now I'm back! And I just realized that I ended the first chapter practically the same way I did with another one of my stories! FAIL.<strong>

**Well anyway, thanks for reading the first chapter of 'My Italian Heart.' Asta La Pasta!**


	3. Dealing with Obstacles and Death

**Derp. The answer to the prologue's cliffhanger shall be released in this chapter! Why? CUZ I ALREADY WROTE THIS LONG AGO, I JUST WASN'T SURE WHICH CHAPTER IT WOULD WORK IN.**

**SLIGHT GORE!**

**(I have **_**got **_**to stop going on all caps…)**

**By the way, memories/dreams in my story will be told in italics.**

* * *

><p><strong>Byzantine's POV<strong>

Byzantine hiked up the cobblestone path that was embedded on the grassy green hills that swept throughout Pangaea. Sweat trickled down her olive-green face and she bemoaned the fact that Arcadia's house have to be on a hill. Why couldn't she just have a nicer little cottage next to the river? It surely would of made visiting her easier…

She shook her head. Time to stop getting sidetracked. Focus. Focus.

After about five minutes, Byzantine managed to pull herself up the final hill, panting like a dog as she took in the giant house in front of her. House didn't even cover it. Arcadia's place was a friggin' _mansion. _Byzantine stood before a three story house that was made up of black wooden planks and light gray stones. The gabled roof was a dark shade of sapphire and just below it, there was a giant window with delicate metals twisting around each other to form the panes. Shrubs and flowers of all different varieties flecked the ground and some ran along side a tall metal fence and beyond the bars, Byzantine could see Arcadia's flower garden.

As Byzantine approached the front door, she had the odd suspicion that she was being watched. Tensing, she craned her look around her until she finally spotted a big black bird watching her with beady eyes that seemed to peer into her soul. Relief washed through her when she recognized the big bird.

Byzantine held her elbows akimbo and the bird didn't hesitate to jump on her forearm. Byzantine grinned and gently stroked the raven's glossy back feathers with her fingers, temporarily forgetting why she was even at Arcadia's house in the first place. "Hey Midnight. How have you and Hatchi been doing?" She asked the pretty she-bird.

Midnight cooed gently from the back of her throat. _"I've been quite fine, Lady Byzantine, thank you. Hatchi has been doing well, also." _Byzantine grinned at this. She loved the polite little raven, even though she was still quite uncomfortable to be called 'Lady' though.

Midnight blinked her black eyes at Byzantine and asked, _"Are you here to see Lady Arcadia, Lady?" _Byzantine abruptly remembered the reason why she came there in the first place and her smile faded into pursed lips. She nodded tightly and said, "Yes. Something urgent has come up and I need to speak to her. Now."

The raven nodded and flapped her pitch-black wings. _"Very well. She is up in her bedroom. The front door is unlocked. Farewell, Lady Byzantine." _Just as Midnight was about to fly away, Byzantine called out to her. "Hold up, Midnight! How did you know I was here in the first place?"

Midnight turned her head around slightly and said, _"Arcadia told me that she sensed someone go on her property. She asked me to go see who it is."_

Byzantine nodded. She had gotten used to the fact that Arcadia tended to set up magical borders around her house to aware her when there was either a trespasser or a visitor was coming by. And the fact that Arcadia could talk telepathically with her familiars.

Byzantine reached out towards the giant oak door and put her hand on the silver door knob, turning the device and stepping into the house. The house was faintly lit by the sunlight that managed to seep through the grand curtains, exposing old Arcadian styled furnishings. Byzantine walked past Arcadia's grandly yet modestly decorated house and up the two flights of stairs that eventually led to the third floor where Arcadia's bedroom, study, lounge, and spell room was located.

Byzantine walked into the small pentagon shaped opening that made up the main third floor and walked over to Arcadia's bedroom door. Right when she was about to knock, a child's voice rang out through the thick wooden door. "I know its you, Old Lady. Come on in." Byzantine pouted and entered the bedroom.

Beige curtains were cast aside to let sunlight enter Arcadia's room, unlike her living room. Dark brown wood sculpted a king-sized bed where a young looking girl was nestled under the dark blue covers. The girl wore a simple black dress and had dark brown hair, accompanied by an ahoge that bobbed at the top of her head. From the short sleeves, Byzantine could clearly see that one of the girl's arms was flesh and bone, while from her perspective, the one on the right was made out of metal. The girl's, Arcadia's, brown eyes stared at Byzantine as the older ex-nation walked over and sat down at the foot of her bed.

Arcadia nodded at Byzantine coolly. "Hello, Old Lady."

Byzantine frowned at the girl playfully and crossed her arms. "I'd rather you not call me Old Lady, Ada." Byzantine mumbled, switching to their human names. Arcadia smiled and leaned over to flick her best friend on the forehead. "You know you and everyone else likes the name, Byz." Arcadia said with a mischievous smirk. Arcadia turned to her right and smiled at something. "Right Hatchi?"

Byzantine noticed the small crow that was sitting next to Arcadia the whole time, snacking on sunflower seeds. Hatchi glanced up from his snack and nodded vigorously. _"Yup! That name's awesome!" _Byzantine sighed dramatically, placing a hand over her heart. "Why must you two always turn on me?"

"Because we're your friends, Gena." Arcadia said, finally switching to Byzantine's human name. Arcadia tipped her head to the side slightly, her waist long hair falling over a little part of her face. "So what did you want to talk about?"

Byzantine's happiness faded and she glanced away. Hatchi and Arcadia looked at the suddenly depressed ex-nation in confusion. Arcadia reached out and touched Byzantine's shoulder. "Byz? What's wrong?"

Byzantine let out a shuddering sigh as she turned to the little girl. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she asked, "How much time had passed since they put me in solitary confinement?" Arcadia blinked in confusion and frowned. "Four days in Pangaea, I'm not sure about the mortal world though. Why would you want to know- Oh… Right…" Understanding finally struck Arcadia and she seemed to remember why Byzantine would want to know that. Hatchi, however, was confused.

"What? Solitary confinement? What happened four days ago? And what about the time?" Hatchi asked Arcadia, tugging on her black dress sleeve. Arcadia hesitated and glanced at Byzantine. Byzantine smiled at Arcadia tiredly. "It's okay. I don't mind telling him." Byzantine took a deep breath before she began. "It all started like this…"

-August 6th, 1945-

_Byzantine struggled between the grip of the ancient nations surrounding her, screaming strings of curses in every single language she knew. Aztec had a solid grip on Byzantine's right arm while a pale girl with long black hair was clutching her left arm. From behind her, a girl with orange hair flustered golden eyes, struggled to restrain the thrashing nation._

_Byzantine twisted her body best as she could, trying to get the three woman to loosen their grips on her. "Let go of me you bastards! Release me!" She spat at them. A man with curly dark brown hair and brown eyes calmly stepped forward from the crowd of nations around her. "Calm down Byzantine. It's his time and just like it was all of ours, he has to join us." The man said smoothly, only further igniting her rage._

"_Shut the fuck up, Rome! You have no right to speak about him as if he was of little importance. What sort of a grandpa would take one of his grandsons and leave the other? You may not care about him, but I do! I'm not going to let my Romano die because of some stupid bombing by another country!" Byzantine screamed and Rome flinched back from her harsh words. Romano's boss sent him to Hiroshima to discuss war strategies with Japan when Byzantine learned that America was planning to bomb Japan. Romano was currently in the city in the middle of the bombing. If she doesn't get there soon he might…_

_A girl with long, straight black hair and violet eyes stepped forward and tried to soothe the angry nation. "Come now, Byzantine, let us be reasonable and we can work this out-" Byzantine whipped her head around and glared at the offending woman. "Shut up Kievan Rus!" She spat and began to kick at the three girls around her._

_The girl with long black hair yelped when she was kicked in the shin and said. "Byzantine, please calm down!" _

"_Shut up Maya! Inca, Aztec, LET GO!" She spat and to her surprise, the three woman let go of her just like that. Byzantine stumbled back, in confusion to why they let got of her, but then a dark shape hurled past her along with the glint of a large blade. _

_Standing in front of Byzantine was a little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. The girl had an ahoge at the top of her head and she was dressed in a long, baggy black dress with dark blue vine patterns printed all over it. She had a long black scarf wrapped around her neck along with an iridescent tapestry that shimmered on her chest and on her back, an odd accessory, but the style seemed to work for her. In her hand, the girl clutched a long black rod that turned into the silver blade of a scythe at the top._

_Byzantine stared at the girl in shock. "A-Arcadia? What are you doing-" Her voice was cut off when Arcadia swung her scythe at the ancient nations, forcing them to back up. Arcadia didn't bother throwing a glance back at Byzantine as she said, "I'm doing you a favor, Old Lady. Now hurry the hell up and save your kid." With that, Arcadia charged forward towards the crowd of nations and began swinging her scythe at them, not trying to kill them, but to distract them._

_Byzantine stared at the small girl for her bravery but then came to her senses and spun around, bolting towards the woods behind her._

_The battle cries faded behind her as she ran deeper into the woods. Low branches of trees scratched her bare arms and she cursed at herself for wearing a toga on a rescue mission. _

_An owl hooted from somewhere above Byzantine as she skidded to a halt at a small clearing. The clearing was bare of anything except short, dry grass and an open well. Byzantine marched over to the well and peered into the hole. Usually, one would expect only pitch-black darkness when staring into this hole, but this was no ordinary well after all. This was the passageway from Pangaea, the world of dead nations to the world of the nations still alive. She needed to go through this portal in order to save Romano._

_Byzantine felt a familiar chill that she experienced every time she got close to the portal, but shrugged it off. Her fear of small dark places could wait. If she was going to save her son in time, she had to do it now._

_Byzantine climbed atop the stone railing and looked down into the empty darkness. Before she could lose her nerves, she closed her eyes and jumped into the darkness, allowing the blackness to consume her._

_Byzantine felt wind rush past her, ruffling her old clothes and make her hair whip across her face and back. Byzantine felt another wave of creepy shivers travel through her body as whispers of the those who had died a long time ago in their heyday entered her ears and clawed lightly at her arms. Byzantine opened her eyes and saw images flicker past her in the darkness. She saw men in blood and sweat working to stack bricks to build the first mile of the Great Wall, endless waves of Roman soldiers uttering battle cries before they charged to their deaths to the hands of the Germanics, men and mostly woman being burned at stake. The mistakes, achievements, and fall of every countries existence. _

_A small white dot appeared in Byzantines line of vision and that dot soon expanded into a large white, swirling vortex. The light the portal uttered was blinding and Byzantine closed her eyes shut as she fell headfirst into that portal, breaking the barrier between the mortal world and Pangaea. _

_The echoes and images of the past disappeared and Byzantine opened her eyes to find herself in a broken city covered with ash. Byzantine's felt her blood become overrun with glaciers as it pooled into her stomach. The bombing already happened…_

_Byzantine felt a tug in her chest and her hand flew up and touched the spot. She felt a whirl of emotions surge through her that she was certain weren't hers. Images of her old land flashed through her… These emotions weren't hers, but were someone's who had her land._

'_He's alive!' Byzantine shouted in her mind, feeling relief ebb into her. 'My Romano's still alive!' As soon as Byzantine thought this, she felt a sharp agony pierce where the tugging sensation had touched her. Her breath almost left her in an instant and she felt panic surge throughout her. Romano was alive. For now. She has to save him before it's too late._

_The crumbled remains of buildings of all different sizes and varieties dotted the entire city. The dead bodies of the unfortunate citizens were splayed out on the roads or under large chunks or debris. Radiation burned her skin as Byzantine ran down the broken city._

_Byzantine's heart pounded in her chest as she silently thought. 'Oh god, please let me make it in time. Please, please, please…" Byzantine tripped over something and crashed to the ground, shattered glass cutting her skin. She gritted her teeth and threw a glance behind her to see what she had tripped over and her heart leapt to her throat. Byzantine's body went rigid as she stared at the broken body of her son._

_Byzantine stared at Romano's crumpled body for a second, unable to comprehend the sight in front of her. When she did, she fell to her knees, not caring that the glass cut through her skin, and shook her son's shoulder rapidly. "Romano? Romano! Wake up, please! Open your eyes! Mama's here. ROMANO!" Romano's body didn't stir and Byzantine felt nausea creep over her when blood only trickled out of the corner of his mouth._ _Panic seized Byzantine's body and she started to pat on his cheeks as if to try to wake him up from a deep sleep, but she felt her world shatter when she touched his skin and the sensation was icy cold. 'My son… How could you die? You still have your land… You're still a nation…'_

_Tears pooled in Byzantine's eyes and poured down her cheeks, blending into the rain and falling on Romano's lifeless cheeks. Sobs racked Byzantine's body until intense anger replaced sorrow and she screamed at the sky angrily._

"_WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HIM, BASTARDS? HE HAD SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR! HE'S NOT READY TO JOIN ME IN DEATH YET! HE STILL HAS A LIFE TO LIVE, DAMMIT!" After Byzantine screamed out the last word, her throat felt raw from the volume and anger disappeared from her body. She was left only with her grief and misery. Byzantine gathered Romano's body in her arms and began to sob. It was all so ironic and strange. A ghost of a woman crying over the death of her son… She should have been happy to have him in Pangaea with her, but she didn't. She wanted Romano to live his life to the fullest with the people he loved, despite the fact he was horrible at showing his emotions. _

_Caught up in her own emotions, she didn't notice the woman in black until she had spoken. "Can you please get off of South Italy? I need to take his soul." Byzantine jumped and her eyes widened as she turned to face the woman in black. "Who are you?"_

_The woman tipped her head to the side, seeing kind of interested and amused at the question. "I go by many names. Too many to count. However, I prefer to be called Death or Jigoku." Byzantine's body went rigid as she stared at the woman in black._

_Death laughed at Byzantine's stunned reaction and said. "You look awfully surprised to see me. I guess that means you don't remember me." Death shrugged. "I'm not surprised though. No one ever does remember me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to take your son's soul." Death took a step closer to Romano and Byzantine. Byzantine tensed and clutched Romano's body against her tighter, her eyes widening as she did so. She was so confused. "W-why are you taking him? H-he's still a nation. He still has his land to keep him alive. So how…?" Byzantine's voice trailed off and she looked at Death for answers._

_Death smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Tell me, Byzantine. Do you see any other country with two personas?" Byzantine hesitated and shook her head. Death nodded. "Exactly. That's because there's only one persona per nation allowed. If there is more than one persona to represent a nation, then they both lose a nation's immortality and have a different type of immortality. You getting this so far?" Byzantine nodded slowly. Death grinned and continued on. "The two persona's have a special type of immortality that allows them to live as long as their land lasts, BUT-" Death paused for emphasis. "They are both able to die from appending forces. Which means that they are both vulnerable to death, which is me, and when one of them dies from appending forces, the other one gets the full immortality of a nation. This type of immortality can also, and will soon apply to that one guy; Prussia, was it, because he will dissolve peacefully in the future and loses his land, but won't vanish because it wasn't a violent dissolution." Death grinned at Byzantine. "That make sense now, buttercup?"_

_Byzantine nodded again, somberly. It made terrible sense to her. That's why her son is…_

_Death grinned and started walking over to Byzantine and her fallen son. "Good. Now that that's out of the way, you can just fork him over, and-" Her voice was cut off when she noticed Byzantine glaring fiercely at Death, defiantly. "I won't let you take him." Byzantine could almost imagine Death's covered eyes narrow as she did this._

"_Step aside, Byzantium." Death growled, taking another step. Byzantine felt a pang of hatred at being called Byzantium. Her father named her that. The bastard._

"_My name is Byzantine." She snarled at death and clutched her son's bloody form against her protectively. "And I won't let you take Romano." _

_Anger radiated from Death and she marched over, snatched Byzantine up by her toga, yanking her away from Romano's body, and snarled into her face, "You think he's really that important, don't you? You think he has so much to live for. Well guess what? He's a _coward. _He can't even tell the man he loves about his feeling and pushes everyone away because he's afraid of getting hurt. Everyone hates him and loathes him; his caretaker, Spain, even wanted to get rid of him. Swap him out with his brother. You wanna know why? Because Venenziano's _better _than him. He's talented, good with trade, and good with people. He's innocent and kind while Romano's a pitiful and hateful creature. That's why Romano should die and Venenziano should become the official persona of Italy, not him. They would never recognize him even if he was the persona and he would fade like you and your pitiful empire. Hell, your in fault of this too. You should have never conceived him. He. Should. Of. Never. Been. Born." Death spat the last part out like bullets. Byzantine stared at Death, speechless, before bitter rage swam over her, covering her vision in red. _

_Byzantine shoved Death away from her and snarled, "You're wrong. Completely wrong. Romano _does _have a lot to live for. He has brother's who care for him, friends to hang out with, and someone to love, even if it is from a distance." Byzantine's eyes narrowed at Death. "He's as much of Italy as Vene' is and that won't change. I'm sure everyone recognizes him." Death stared at Byzantine in some sort of awe before she nodded slowly. _

"_Very well. I will let him live." Byzantine blinked in surprise and started to smile in disbelief. She won the argument? Romano could live? "Really-" "For sixty-eight years." Byzantine's smile faded instantly and she frowned in confusion. "What?"_

_Death turned around and began walking away. She waved her hand in the air and said, "I'll let him live for sixty-eight more years. Exactly. If you prove to me that he has something to live for, love, talents, friendship, and if he is recognized as Italy by all countries, then I will leave him alone forever and won't bother him. Hell, I'll even break the rules and give him and Venenziano the immortality of a true nation." Byzantine brightened when she heard this, but Death continued. "However, if you don't prove to me he has something to live for, and he isn't recognized as a nation, then I will tear him away from life through the fading process like you began to experience when Ottoman invaded your house. He'll get dizzy spells, nausea, and start to throw up blood along with a few other perks. I'll make his last days miserable." Death smiled at Byzantine cruelly. Byzantine flinched away in fear, and began to shake slightly from the demonic aura radiating the woman. _

"_See you later, Vargas." With that, Death disappeared in a hazy black cloud, leaving Byzantine alone with her son's dead body. A soft moan came from beside Byzantine, making her jump. Her mouth dropped open in shock she saw Romano shaking, with all of his wounds gone. Byzantine felt herself sigh in relief. He was safe… Now all she had to do was get him recognized and then he and Vene' will be alright from Death's hands until they lived their lives out. _

_Right when she was about to reach over and wake her son up, a hand from behind her snatched up her wrist. Byzantine's eyes widened as the offender grabbed her and yanked her off the ground. Anger pulsed through her and she was about to beat the crap out of the person that grabbed her when she came face to face with Rome and Graecia. Rome was the one securing her wrist and Graecia was holding a bottle and a cloth along with some rope across her shoulder. When Graecia began to pour the liquid onto the cloth, Byzantine realized what her mother was about to do to her._

_Byzantine strained against her father's grip and begged him, "Let go of me! Please! Plea-" Byzantine's words were soon muffled when Graecia pressed the cloth over her nose and mouth. The odd smell seeped into Byzantine's nostrils and not five seconds later, she fell into a dark unintentional rest…_

When Byzantine finished with her tale, Hatchi was staring at her with his wide eyes and Arcadia looked even graver. Hatchi let out a choked squawk. _"So your parents knocked you out and tossed you into a cell?" _Byzantine nodded sadly. Hatchi turned to Arcadia. _"And you distracted them from Byzantine? Is that why you came home that day with cuts and bruises everywhere?" _For the first time, Byzantine noticed the marks on Arcadia's creamy skin.

Arcadia nodded in confirmation. "I held them back best I could… But Germania has a mean swing and he knocked me out cold." Byzantine's mouth dropped open in shock. "He hit a little girl? That's so uncalled for!" Byzantine exclaimed, her usual childish attitude returning to her. Arcadia straightened up indignantly. "I'm not a little girl, I'm almost as old as you!"

Byzantine smiled faintly, but then it disappeared. She looked at Arcadia with begging eyes. "So can you please tell me how much time I have left to save Romano? Please? I'll do anything for you, anything!" Arcadia flinched at the desperation in the woman's voice and she held up a hand.

"Calm down, Byz. Of course I'll help you. You don't have to do anything for me though, this is a fellow nations life we're dealing with." Byzantine felt relief wash over her and she hugged Arcadia tightly. "Thank you…"

"Oh… yes… Ow." Arcadia winced and Byzantine pulled back apologetically. "Sorry…"

Arcadia waved her metal hand. "Don't worry about it." Arcadia tapped her finger on Hatchi's back absent-mindedly. "Let's see… it's been four days in our world, but in the mortal world… Hatchi, can you bring me a book?" Byzantine could see Arcadia struggle to figure out how much time passed in the mortal world. It was fairly difficult. Time passed differently in Pangaea. _Very _differently. How time flowed changed constantly in Pangaea, which made it hard for them to calculate how much time passed. For example, when Byzantine's empire collapsed and she went up to Pangaea, two months passed in Pangaea's time, but in the mortal world, two-hundred years had flown by, and another time, it had been a hundred years in Pangaea and only thirty minutes passed in the mortal world. So, Byzantine had every right to freak out over how much time has passed.

Arcadia was mumbling to herself now, counting on her fingers, and glancing at the book in her lap briefly. "So then it would be that… and that would mean…" Arcadia's eyes widened. "Oh dear…" Byzantine paled and she leaned towards Arcadia. Hatchi jumped on Arcadia's shoulder nervously. _"What? What's wrong?"_ Hatchi asked nervously.

Arcadia slowly looked up at Byzantine and quietly said, "It's been sixty-seven years and six months…" Byzantine hesitated and calculated how much time she had left and her mouth dropped open.

"_Two months?_" She squeaked. "I have _two months _left?" Arcadia nodded slowly and Byzantine looked at Arcadia pleadingly, taking her mix-matched hands into her own. "You're a witch, aren't you? Can't you do some sort of spell or something to give me more time? Please?" Arcadia hesitated and shook her head.

"I'm sorry. There's no spell that I know of that can go back in time. I tried looking for it when Poland got invaded so I could have warned him…" Arcadia's voice trailed off then she shook her head and looked at Byzantine in the eyes.

"Anyway Byzantine. There's nothing I can do for you in that area. You have to make do with the time you have left." Byzantine's eyes turned to the ground and Arcadia gently said, "I know a way where you can directly influence Romano's fate, though." Byzantine's eyes snapped towards Arcadia's.

"You do?" Byzantine asked, hope returning to her.

Arcadia nodded. She leaned over towards her nightstand and dug around through one of the drawers for a little and pulled out a small vial. She handed the vial to Byzantine and said, "This is a minor mind control potion. When you go down to earth, ask Romano's boss if you can be Romano's personal assistant or someone that has to be close to him. If he refuses, just make him drink this and tell him what to do." Byzantine's eyes widened.

"Forcing someone to do something? Isn't that kind of low?" Arcadia chuckled and smirked. "Maybe. But sometimes these types of potions are good for getting little things that you want. Like having your overly-hyper best friend get off your back over a little cooking accident." Byzantine's mouth dropped open and she jumped to her feet.

"So _that's _why I wanted to leave your house so suddenly!" She cried, pointing at Arcadia. The little girl just grinned.

"Maybe. Anyway Byzantine, I'll cover up for you while you're gone and make sure nobody suspects what you're up to." Byzantine blinked and tipped her head to the side. "How?"

"I'll just tell everyone that you're still moody that you were locked in a cell for the past couple days and that you're staying at my house. Not accepting visitors." Byzantine nodded and hugged the little girl.

"Thanks Arcadia." Byzantine murmured gratefully. "As a thank you for this, I'll finally teach you how to cook without your kitchen catching on fire."

"Hey!"

**Romano's POV**

"_Ve~ Fratello, fratello!"_

_Romano's eye lids quivered and he slowly cracked open his eyes. Romano turned his head to see a younger version of his little brother running towards him with a grin plastered on his sweet chubby face. 'Venenziano?' Romano thought in bafflement. 'How did you get here? And why are you a kid?' Romano stared at his brother in confusion before a thought hit his head. He sat up abruptly and looked down at his body. His body was in smaller proportions and his arms and legs were chubbier. He appeared to be wearing a long white tunic with a simple red string tied at his collar. He was a child again._

'_What the hell?' Romano thought in confusion, his heart beginning to race. 'What's going on? Why am I a kid again? Chigi!' Romano's mind racing in confusion as Italy finally stopped by his side with a grin on his face. He was wearing a tunic similar to Romano's except a green string was used at his collar instead of red._

"_Hey Fratello! I've been looking for you a long time!" Venenziano exclaimed and grabbed Romano's arm with chubby toddler hands and tugged on it. "Come on! We've got to get back inside now! It's about to rain" Romano blinked and finally looked at the scenery in front of him. He was in a lush green meadow with tall grass that swayed wildly from the wind. The sky was closed in with dark gray clouds. The hairs on Romano's arms rose from the tingle of electricity he sensed in the upcoming storm._

_Venenziano tugged on Romano's arm again, trying to get his attention. "Come on Fratello!" Romano returned his gaze to Venenziano._

"_Venenziano, what the hell is going on? Why are we kids again?" Venenziano blinked and tipped his head to the side._

"_What are you talking about, Fratello? We've always been kids. Did you sleep to long? Is that why you're confused?" Venenziano asked, worry ebbing into his face. Romano stared at his brother with wide eyes and Venenziano shrugged and continued on. "Anyway Fratello, we should get inside soon. Mama said she was going to come looking for us if I didn't come back soon." Romano frowned, confusion settling inside him further. Mama? Romano didn't have a mother as far as he was concerned. What the hell is Venenziano talking about?_

"_Vene'! Romano!" Romano and Venenziano turned towards the voice. Romano could see in the distance that a woman that appeared to be wearing a white dress was running towards them. Venenziano smiled and waved at the woman._

"_Mama!" He cried happily. Romano stared at him and his eyes flicked back to the approaching woman. That was their mom? Then why didn't he remember her? Romano began to run towards the woman. Romano could now see that the woman had long dark brown hair and olive-toned skin that matched him._

"_Mom-" Romano began to say, but then he felt a flash of pain in his stomach. He looked down to see that blood was pouring out a wound in his stomach. Light-headedness crept into Romano's head and he fell to his knees in agony. This pain felt familiar._

"_Romano?" Romano faintly heard the woman cry._

"_Lovi please wake up!" Romano frowned in confusion. That voice sounded awfully masculine for some reason…_

"_Lovi!" The voice was getting nearer…_

"_Lovi!" Romano felt something warm brush against his cheek. A hand maybe?_

"Lovi! Please wake up!" Spain's hysterical voice finally reached Romano's ears and suddenly the meadow and the woman disappeared. Was that all a dream? Romano felt something lower him onto something soft and something brushed against his cheek.

Romano opened his amber eyes and found that he was back in his bedroom. With Spain. Face to face. Romano jumped and shoved the Spaniard away from him, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

"B-bastard! What the hell are you doing?" Romano yelled. Spain's green eyes were surprised but then his expression changed to one of relief. He hugged Romano tightly while Romano hissed and cursed at Spain, struggling to get out of the stronger man's grip.

"Lovi~! You're okay!" He said and nuzzled Romano's cheek. Romano's cheeks turned red and he managed to shove Spain off of him. "Don't touch me like that asshole!" He spat but Spain only laughed. Spain's cheerful expression slowly faded back to concern and he sat down next to Romano on his bed.

"Anyway my Roma, are you okay? I got so worried when I saw you passed out in the hallway." Romano blinked in confusion and searched through his memory. He passed out? Then Romano remembered his dizziness, throwing up blood, and fainting. Romano visibly paled and Spain's eyes widened in concern.

Spain grabbed Romano's hand. "Are you okay, _mi tomato?_" He asked worriedly. Romano frowned and pulled his hand away from Spain and shrugged, looking away from him. "Yeah…" He murmured. "I'm fine, bastard."

Spain studied his face. "Are you sure, Lovi? I can take you to the hospital if you don't feel okay." Romano's eyes snapped to Spain's and his eyes narrowed.

"There's no way in hell you're taking me to the hospital, bastard." Romano had a strong fear of hospitals. He hated the smell of sickness and death that lingered in the halls even when there was no one there.

Spain nodded reluctantly. "Alright… But at least let boss stay over and take care of you for the night, okay?" Romano blushed slightly at the question and glanced out his window. It was pitch-black outside. Romano turned his head away from Spain, pretending to look annoyed but he felt relieved. "F-fine bastard… Just don't annoy me all night, damn it." Spain grinned and flung himself at his former henchmen and embraced Romano.

"You're so cute~" He purred and just then, Romano's stomach growled loudly for the both of them to hear. Romano's cheeks turned red and he looked down at his stomach. Spain blinked and laughed.

"I guess I should give you that paella now~" He said and turned around. "I'll be right back, Lovi~" Romano mumbled something incoherently and Spain laughed again. Spain left the room and Romano stared at the walls, his mind working. Why did he throw up blood? Romano touched his stomach tentatively as if it was a piece of glass that would break any minute. His stomach didn't feel anything but hungry. Romano sighed and stood up. Maybe he was just hallucinating that it was blood he was throwing up. It was probably just a rotten tomato he accidentally ate…

Suddenly, Romano's cell phone rang from his pocket, making him jump. He dug it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID. His boss was calling him. Romano sighed and flipped open the cell phone, pressing talk. _Please don't let this mean more paperwork…_

"Romano?" His boss's voice came from the phone. Romano sighed and asked, "Yes sir?"

"Romano I have looked over your progress in the government and realized that you've been falling behind your paperwork for the past few days…" Romano groaned inwardly. Damn it. It _was _paperwork…

"I have to harvest the tomatoes." Romano reminded his boss, feeling annoyance begin to creep into his voice. "The shipments are leaving next week and I need to harvest all of them."

Romano heard his boss sigh. "Yes I know that, Romano. So I have finally decided to hire you an assistant." Romano's mouth dropped open. "What?"

His boss sighed again and he impatiently said, "You heard me. She will attend meetings with you and help you with your paperwork and tomato harvest for the next couple of months. She also lives quite a distance away from you, so she will have to live at your house for a while. You have plenty of room, right?" Romano's mouth was hanging down so low, he thought it was going to drop.

"I don't need help or have someone follow me around all day!" Romano spat angrily in the phone, not caring that it was his boss he was talking to. "I'm doing perfectly fine on my own!" Such a big lie. Romano's been lonely for the past couple of months. His stupid little brother's been hanging out with that potato bastard and Japan and he hasn't come to visit him once. Actually, this was the first time in five weeks Spain came to visit him.

"You don't have a say in this, Romano." His boss informed him. "Now take her in warmly and _please _try to behave around her. She seems awfully fragile." Romano sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Fine…" He grumbled. "But what the fuck is her name?"

"I don't remember. Now goodbye, Romano. I have a meeting to attend." With that, Romano's boss hung up on him. Romano swore and threw his phone on his bed. He really didn't want to have to share his home and breathing space to a woman for all he knew could be an annoying bitch. But this was an order from his boss so he _had _to obey.

Life as a nation is a bitch.

Romano's stomach growled again, reminding him of his hunger and he grumbled to himself and walked down the stairs. That Spanish bastard better be finished with the food…

As soon as Romano got to the first floor, the door bell rang. Romano heard Spain's footsteps from the kitchen and he yelled, "I'll get it, bastard." It was probably his assistant, he thought annoyed.

He ambled over to his front door and answered the door and his eyes widened with shock. On his front porch was a seriously beautiful lady. She had olive-toned skin like him and green eyes. Her long dark brown hair was tied in a pony tail and she had two familiar hair curls on her head. She was wearing a white dress shirt and brown blazer with a matching skirt. But the thing that surprised him was that she seemed hauntingly familiar… like he'd seen her before somewhere in his life.

The woman smiled at him and stuck out a delicate hand. "Hello, Romano. My name is Gena Castillo. Nice to meet you."


	4. Awkward Intros and Mysterious Intentions

**Byzantine's POV**

Byzantine smiled at her son broadly and held out one of her hands, the other clutching a duffle bag Arcadia loaned to her. She could barely keep the excitement out of her voice as she said, "Hello, Romano. My name is Gena Castillo. Nice to meet you." Byzantine almost said her last name was 'Vargas' but quickly caught herself and used her old husbands last name.

Romano stared at Byzantine with an odd look on his face. Byzantine's smile faded and she dropped her hand back to her side. Romano looked as if he was trying to comprehend something difficult as he studied her. Byzantine shifted uncomfortably and her pleated brown skirt shifted along with her. Surely he didn't remember her, right? It was such a long time ago since he last saw her, that he surely couldn't remember her.

Byzantine cleared her throat and smiled at Romano again, except this time it held less jazz. "Um, Mr. Romano? Is there something wrong?" She asked, snapping Romano out of his trance. "Nothing." He said quickly. "Nothing's wrong." He stepped aside to let Byzantine in. Stepping inside, Byzantine turned around to look at Romano as he closed the door. Romano turned around and to face Byzantine and he scratched the back of his head.

"Um, sorry about that." He grumbled and looked at her in the eyes, still seeming like he was processing something. "What did you say you're name was?"

"Gena. Gena Castillo." She answered and looked around his house absent-mindedly. It was nicely decorated with fine Italian furnishings. Detailed paintings occasionally clung to the walls, their bright colors matching the beige walls. _Lovino has a nice house… _Byzantine noted.

Romano was watching her as she observed here surroundings and asked, "So you're going to be my new assistant?" Byzantine flinched at the roughness he used when saying 'assistant' and she nodded shyly as she turned back to him.

"Yes, that's right..." She said and silence reigned throughout the room until a man with tan skin and emerald eyes popped his head out of the doorway with a frown.

"Lovi? Who are you talking to…?" The man's voice trailed off when he spotted Byzantine and he stared at the woman with wide eyes. With a jolt, Byzantine recognized him as the personification of Spain, the man that took Romano in and raised him kindly, but also breaking his heart. Because of that, Byzantine wielded mixed feelings for the Spaniard.

"Um, Lovi? Who is this?" Spain asked and turned his gaze towards Romano with a strange glint in his eye, then walking over to Romano. Byzantine frowned and tipped her head to the side and stared at the Spanish nation. Was that… Jealousy? Byzantine felt a massive wave of awkward wash over her and she abruptly developed an interest in her boots.

Romano scowled at Spain and rolled his eyes. "She's my newly appointed assistant, tomato bastard." He said and Byzantine blinked from his usage of language, but then brushed it off. She was used to Mercia* swearing like a sailor whenever she got drunk. "Apparently she's going to have to live with me for a couple of months."

Spain nodded slowly and turned to Byzantine with a smile, although, she noticed, the glint remained present in his jade eyes. "Well, it's very nice to meet you then, _senora. _I'm S- Antonio." Spain said cheerfully, catching himself at the last part. Byzantine smiled slightly and looked at Spain.

"It's okay, I already know about all of the personifications." She said and Romano and Spain exchanged surprised glances. After that brief moment passed, Spain turned back to Byzantine and gestured towards the kitchen.

"In that case then, would you like some paella?" He asked and Byzantine smiled and shook her head.

"No thank you… I already ate before I came here." Not true. As a dead nation, Byzantine lost the need to consume anything in general. Actually, the only reason anyone ever ate or drank anything in Pangaea was for the taste.

Byzantine slightly lifted her dark blue duffle bags and looked at Romano. "Um, is there anywhere I could put my bags?" She asked, trying to sound polite and was itching to get to her room so she could escape the tense atmosphere and try to start planning to save Romano.

Romano blinked and nodded, jerking his thumb towards the staircase that was to Spain's left. "Uh, the second door on the right." Byzantine nodded a thank you and hurried up the stairs. She had the lingering suspicion that this was going to be a long two months…

**Romano's POV**

Romano watched as Gena trekked up the steps before he turned towards Spain with a scowl. "What the hell was that about, bastard?" Romano demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at the Spaniard.

Spain looked at Romano, confusion etching his handsome features. Romano mentally slapped himself for adding that detail as Spain opened his mouth and asked, "What are you talking about, Roma?" He asked, further infuriating him.

The Italian nation gestured towards the stairs and lowered his voice to a hiss so Gena couldn't hear him from downstairs. "One, don't call me that. Two, you know what I'm taking about!" Spain continued to look at him with pure confusion. Irritation flooded through Romano and he snapped. "The way you were looking at her, bastard! Couldn't you tell it was making her uncomfortable?" He hissed and Spain's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! So that's why she seemed so tense…" Spain realized and Romano face-palmed. "No shit, bastard…" He mumbled as Spain scratched the back of his head.

"I guess I should apologize later." He said and then gestured towards the kitchen with a grin. "Hungry, Romano?"

"As I said before: no shit." He sniffed and strutted into the kitchen while Spain laughed and followed him. The paella was in a large bowl, the steam dancing in the air as it left the source. Romano heard his stomach growl as he got a bowl from his cupboard and filled his plate up with the food. He grabbed a fork and sat down at his kitchen table and took a bite of the food. Instantly, his taste buds snapped to life.

Spain sat down in front of Romano and watched the boy eat. He smiled at the Italian and winked at him. "So what do you think, Roma~? Did boss do good?" Romano blushed in embarrassment and nearly choked on his paella. He quickly swallowed his ration and scowled at Spain.

"H-hell no bastard! This stuff tastes like dog shit!" He stuttered slightly and Spain laughed. Spain reached over to ruffle Romano's hair. "You're so cute Roma~" He purred while Romano pouted. Slowly, Spain's hand accidentally drifted towards a certain spot on Romano's head and brushed against it.

Romano's cheeks instantly turned dark red and he suddenly had a strange look on his face. Spain blinked in confusion and tipped his head to the side, bringing his hand back to his side. "Roma? What's wrong-" The Spaniard's voice was cut off when Romano's head slammed into his stomach. Spain coughed violently and clutched his stomach when Romano pulled away.

Spain groaned and looked up at Romano. "What was that for, Roma?" Romano's blushing face scowled fiercely at Spain and he snapped. "Don't touch me there, tomato bastard!" Romano spun around in his heel and fled up the stairs to his bedroom and slammed the door loudly.

Romano plopped himself onto his bed and breathed slowly to calm himself down. When the blush faded, he swore under his breath and grabbed a pillow then proceeded to clutch it against his chest. "Damn Spanish bastard…" He mumbled and buried his face into the pillow. "How dare he touch that curl… after _that _happened so many times." Romano reflected on how Spain constantly pulled on his hair curl when he lived at his house. And how Spain had always laughed when he had done it, before he got head-butted that is.

A knocking sound came from Romano's door and Romano glanced up. "Roma~? I'm sorry if boss did anything to upset you~ He's very sorry." Romano scowled fiercely and his eye twitched at Spain's use of third person. He rolled his eyes and yelled, "Whatever, bastard. Just keep your hands off my hair."

The door swung open and Spain flew over and tackled Romano. The tomato bastard was grinning and petting Romano's hair as he nuzzled the Italian. "Aw, but your hair feels so good Roma~" He said and Romano scowled and punched Spain in the arm, not hard, but as a warning. "Don't call me Roma, you bastard!" Romano spat and Spain pouted.

"But it's a cute nickname! Why do you never like the nicknames I give you? Your cute little brother, Italy likes it when I call him Feli, so why don't you like Roma or Lovi?" Spain questioned and Romano felt a flash of annoyance and slight pain run through his chest.

Romano scowled fiercely at Spain and shoved him away. "Because I just don't, bastard!" He hissed and turned away from Spain. "Now go away, I'm tired." Spain blinked at Romano's sudden dismal and he poked the younger's cheek.

"Alright, _mi tomato. _But boss is still worried about you, so take it easy, 'kay?" Romano blushed slightly and turned his face away from his secret love. "F-fine." He mumbled, then added, "Take the room next to Gena's. Good night, bastard." The same glint from earlier passed over in Spain's eyes when he mentioned Gena's name, but it quickly disappeared and Spain merely smiled and hugged his former henchman. Romano's eye twitched, but he felt too tired to protest. This had been a long day.

"_Buenas noches, _Lovi~" He said and got up, closing the door behind him when he left. Romano laid down on the soft blanket of his bed and closed his eyes. Spain's statement about his brother echoed through his mind. _Your cute little brother, Italy likes it when I call him Feli, so why don't you like Roma or Lovi?_

He hated being compared to his brother. Of course it happened all the time, but it still burned when they all cooed over his brother who had the ability to paint, trade, and charm, but looked upon him with disappointed gazes when they saw he couldn't do anything. When he grew older and was cured of his chorea, he finally was able to hold a paintbrush properly without his hand malfunctioning and paint beautiful landscapes. Of course that didn't matter. By that time, his heart was cold and had sturdy barriers that made him want to keep everything out of his heart, so he didn't bother showing anyone that he actually had some artistic talents.

Romano pulled the pillow over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Spain always cared about Venenziano more than him. He went as far as trying to trade him for his little brother. Not that the piano bastard would allow that.

Regardless of how the tomato bastard broke his heart though, Romano couldn't help but continue to love Spain. He mused about how his love for someone who could never love him back was a curse. Closing his eyes, Romano began to drift off to sleep with a single question echoing in his mind, _What's wrong with _me_?_

**Byzantine's POV**

Byzantine unloaded all the clothes Arcadia conjured up for her into the wardrobe and groaned. Why were there so many? There was a set of clothing for just about every scenario in the whole world: Work clothes, casual attire, dinner party dresses, and for whatever Arcadia thought might happen, a wedding dress. Byzantine stared at the pure white satin outfit with a frown. Byzantine only every married two men in all of her years of being alive, and they were the human father's of her children. She shook her head and shoved the dress into the wardrobe. Whatever went on in Arcadia's head is a mystery…

A tapping noise came from the window and Byzantine blinked in confusion. She turned her head, eyes widening in surprise when she saw a small midnight black bird tapping his beak against the glass. He also batted his wings as if he was knocking on the door (even practically no noise emitted from that action).

Byzantine rushed over and threw open the window as the crow casually hopped onto the nightstand that was next to the velvet covered guest bed. Byzantine sat down on the bed and lowered her voice, just in case Spain or Romano was near her room. "Hatchi? What are you doing here?"

Hatchi merely looked up at Byzantine with intelligent eyes, much to her surprise, since the crow wasn't exactly known for his intellectual. _"Hello, Old Lady. Did you have to give Romano's boss the potion?" _Byzantine's mouth dropped open and she slapped a hand over her face to keep a yelp from coming out. She kind of regretted it though, because it kind of made her lip hurt.

"_Arcadia_." Byzantine finally choked out, rubbing her bruised lip. Damn Romano's boss… He was right. She _was _fragile. Hatchi- No, _Arcadia, _seemed amused. _"Yes Old Lady. It's me. Did you forget that I can speak and see through my familiars?" _The little girl/bird inquired and Byzantine blinked. "Oh yeah…" She said slowly, shaking her head and looking at Arcadia/Hatchi. "But seriously Ada, do you know how creepy it is you can talk through other animals like that?"

"_No. Now back to my original question, did you have to give your kid's boss the potion?" _Byzantine blinked and nodded. "Yup." A memory flashed through Byzantine's eyes, making her shudder. "He was kind of shocked when I popped the question and he thought I was an undercover mafia agent or something, so he pointed a gun at me. But then I tackled him to the ground and shoved the potion down his throat, so everything went smooth from then on out." Byzantine said proudly and Ada/Hatchi just seemed to stare at her.

"… _Okay. By the way, I'm going to have Hatchi stay with you just in case you need assistance, from Morgan or me." _Byzantine's eyes widened. "You told Mercia?" She gasped and Arcadia/Hatchi nodded, rubbing a silky black wing over her/his beak.

"_Yes I told Mercia." _Arcadia/Hatchi responded, then added, _"Don't look like that, Old Lady. She pretty much suspected that you were going to try and save your kid again, regardless of what already happened, but she knows what it feels like to lose a child so she's willing to help." _Tension slipped out of Byzantine's shoulders, remembering what happened between Morgan and England and she nodded slowly. Okay. Morgan Le Fay was on her side of the ring. That's a good sign.

Byzantine folded her legs underneath her and asked the girl/bird. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"_Good luck." _Arcadia/Hatchi responded, then a slightly ominous aura shrouded the girl/crow. _"Be careful though, Byz. Jigoku, or as you call her, Death will probably throw challenges at you and try to interfere as much as she can to make you fail." _Just as Arcadia/Hatchi was about to cut off the connection, Byzantine held out a hand and said, "Wait! Arcadia, I have a question to ask you!"

Arcadia/Hatchi blinked her/his eyes and peered at the ex-nation. _"What is it, Old Lady?" _Byzantine scrounged around her suitcase and brought up the white laced wedding dress and held it in front of her. "Why did you give me a wedding dress?" It's not like Byzantine was going to marry anyone anytime soon. After all, she _was_ dead.

Arcadia/Hatchi blinked in surprise before chuckling. _"Oh, that's not for you, deary." _Arcadia/Hatchi cackled, _"That's for Lovino. No offence, Old Lady, but it's pretty obvious that he'll always be on the bottom." _With that, a dazed look passed over the crow in front of her and the bird shook his head wildly and ruffled his feathers.

"_Whoa! I still haven't gotten used to that weird ticklish feeling I get whenever Arcadia does that!" _Hatchi exclaimed and Byzantine shook her head, pushing away what Arcadia last said and smiled, beginning to stroke the birds midnight black feathers. Hatchi made a pleased noise that kind of resembled a cats purr (ironically) and glanced at Byzantine with his beady black eyes. _"So how are ya going to try and save Romano?" _He casually asked, and Byzantine hesitated. She shrugged and admitted, "Honestly, I don't know where to start. At first I was going to hook Romano up with Spain, but the lad doesn't appear to like me. And I'm not so sure that the other countries are going to like me either."

Hatchi blinked and fluttered his wings to hop onto Byzantine's shoulder. _"If that's the case, then just lock Spain and Romano in a closet until they start making out or something! I'm sure that worked in a book before!"_ Byzantine's eyes widened and she looked at Hatchi excitedly. "You know, that just might work!"

"_Really?"_

"No." Hatchi looked crestfallen as Byzantine continued on, "Maybe I should just try to befriend them first. That way they'll trust me and I just might be able to save Romano just in time." Hatchi yawned and Byzantine glanced over and giggled at the bird. She picked up the black bird and gently set him aside on the pillow next to her head.

"We should both get some sleep. We'll both be needing it tomorrow." But Hatchi was already asleep. Byzantine grinned before yawning herself. She stripped herself bare of clothing and slipped under the covers of the bed before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

**Death's POV**

Death, also called Jigoku, absent-mindedly stirred her soup, gazing out at the pitch black darkness that surrounded her, along with the souls of the twisted dead screaming and writhing from their torture down from the columns that made her house rise above the land of the dead.

Sighing, she picked up her bowl and handed it to one of her servants, a kamikaze gentlemen, and the Asian picked up the bowl without a word and went to go clean it up. That's how things went. Whenever a country lost a war with someone, their dead soldiers were forced to work as a servant, more of a slave to Death until she felt generous enough to let them be reborn or rest in peace. Which meant never.

Her domain was such a pain. Such a vast darkness with only the sound of tortured screaming her only companion (aside from her servants, but they never talked so she discounted them.) She much preferred her sister's land, since everything was so bright and cheerful. Death loved everything about that world, the tall trees, the vivid flowers, she even thought the factories were kind of neat too (even though she remembered her twin complaining about them) while she on the other hand, was trapped in this world of empty. Sure she could leave every now and then, but only for a limited amount of time due to the fact that her sphere of control lied within the land of the dead.

How she envied her sister. Her _perfect _little twin sister. Technically they were exactly the same age, though, but Death had always fancied herself as the older one since her sister was kind of an idiotic airhead.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared before Death and she growled under her breath and covered her eyes with her hands. As the light died down, Death saw a girl with long white-blonde hair that swayed to her hips and baby blue eyes. She was dressed in a white gown and was frowning fiercely at Death. _Speak of the devil._

The girl marched over and pointed a finger accusingly at Death when she stopped at the other end of the small round table in front of Death. "Death, you douche!" She shouted, making a couple of Death's servants glance their way silently, "How dare you mess with my people!"

Death snapped her fingers and a Holy Roman solider walked by and handed Death a glass of red wine. She took a sip and smiled at her sister. "Hello Life. Such a lovely day at my place, isn't it?" Death's casualness only seemed to further infuriate Life. The blonde exasperatedly threw her hands up in the air and yelled, "I meant how dare you try to kill off Romano!"

Death rose her eyebrows as if she just realized why Life was here. "Oh! You meant the little nation?" Death leaned back in her chair and took another sip of wine casually and smirked at Life, a smug gleam in her eyes. "I was only doing my job, little sister. You know the rules of this world, you take my people and give birth to them to create your people, and I take _your _people and give birth to them to create more of _my _people."

Life scowled and clenched her fists. "I know that we exchange people in the cycle of death and rebirth, but Jigoku, he's still mine, and he supposed to remain mine! Whenever nations die, they go to Pangaea where their nation identities continue to thrive until they get bored and want to be reborn, not die and get stuck in this hellhole with _you _for all of eternity."

Jigoku shrugged and innocently looked at her sister. "What can I say? When Life gives you lemons, you make lemonade." Life's angry expression changed to one of bewilderment. "I never gave anyone lemons before."

Death rolled her eyes. "It's a saying, you twit," Then Death added, "There's also a saying that mortals constantly say about you, 'Life's a bitch, ain't she?', oh how I love that one." Life's mouth dropped open and she slapped a hand over her chest, offended.

"I'm not a bitch! You're the bitch! Because you keep on taking loved one's away from people! Like you did with Jeanne D'Arc and France." Death rolled her eyes again.

"Everyone's supposed to die one day, idiot. Or else their would be, like, a gazillion people corrupting the world. And I decided to take Romano because he takes up space in a world that only needs one Italy." Life frowned angrily at her sister.

"That's not all to it, Death. You're taking Romano for another reason, too." Life's eyes narrowed, "And I intend to find out." Death smirked and rose from her chair and took off the headdress that shrouded her head, exposing her long pitch-black hair, deathly white skin, and mix-matched blue and green eyes.

"If that's the case little sister, then try to come capture me."

* * *

><p><strong>SO SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG WAIT AND SUCH A SHITTY CHAPTER! The author of this story is just a lazy ass that put way too much desert on her plate to find the drive to finish this chapter. Anyways, this story is going to be put on hold until I finish my story 'Forgotten' (keep forgetting about that story… that's why you should never call your story that) soooooooo… Yeah.<strong>

***Mercia is my OC for England's mom and is also called Morgan Le Fay… Didn't know Britain's mom was actually Britannia, but meh, I'll make Britannia his aunt or something.**

**JIGOKU ALSO MEANS HELL IN JAPANESE. Don't know why I just wanted to call Death that as well. ^^**

**_**Arrivederci**_** suckers! (Sorry, had to add that)****


	5. AN

**Attention! An announcement from OOC Nihon-Kun and Rukia!**

**Japan: ATTENTION READERS WHOM READ MY CRAP! I'm going to be taking a break from writing chapter stories for a while and focus on one-shots. Blame it on SLS (summer laziness syndrome) and the fact that derpy author-san lost her notes on her stories *glares***

**Author-san: I'm going to get eaten**

**Japan: You better be! I like my persona self the way it is. The stories will be put on hiatus until further notice. You may throw as many tomatoes at Author-san as much as you want to.**

**Sorry everyone ^^**


End file.
